Author Archives: Sydney's Inquiries

Each child within my grade four class if very diverse in their own ways, but sometimes the diversity is not always seen, but learnt over time. Some of the children within this class may only be learning at a grade one or two level, while others may be learning at the proper or above level. Other forms of diversity I have noticed while observing both the classroom and the school is as follows: teaching methods (both spoken, examples are given, hands on, appropriate/contributing videos, etc.), high expectations are stressed, different cultural/religious backgrounds and beliefs, and also personality traits. Every students has the expectations of following the rules, being kind, honest, learning to the best of their ability, trying their hardest to achieve at the best level that they can, and do what is best to help them and others around them learn.

This day in particular had a diverse example of teaching in a hands on method. The day after Halloween was the day of my field placement and all students were asked to bring left over smarties that they had from trick-or-treating the night before. We used the left over smarties to preform fractions in Math class, helping the students both have a visual, hands on, and intriguing way of learning fractions. This sparked excitement, interest, and joy within the students that radiated positivity throughout the room. I thought that this was a great approach to teaching the day after a special event to keep the spirit alive while keeping the kids calm and learning.

The day begins with art class every morning, and not only Mr. Yee’s class is involved, but so is another grade four class. This means that for the first thirty six minutes of everyday, two classes are meshed into one with one teacher teaching them all the same subject. Another example that I observed while in the classroom this week is an after school program for an Art Club. Mr. Yee and the grade two teacher are involved and run and Art Club for students who would like to stay after school (with permission from their parents of course) and be artistic and express themselves while also learning new techniques. Every student is excepted into Tisdale Elementary School with open arms and hands to help them succeed in their learning journey. No matter their learning ability, or religious/cultural background, they will be guided by caring teachers who will make sure that they are getting the help they need when needed. Diversity is very important to notice and accept within both our classrooms and everyday life.

As I arrived at Tisdale Elementary School on October 25th, I met my field placement in the class room and we talked about different ways of knowing and how it is important that we always apply them to our classrooms. The first way of knowing that I noticed he applied to the class is reason. Examples of reason were shown through many different ways, but in particular being rewards. Reasoning behind why they should be rewarded or the reward should be taken away based on their class manners, listening skills, and workload. As soon as the grade four students took their seats in the morning both Mr. Yee and I noticed that they were filled with energy and were not giving him the attention needed for a learning environment. As the clock ticked and rewards were taken away from them, we needed to take the appropriate action to have the students become calm and controlled. To do so, we took ten minutes of our time and devoted it towards a session on the website named ‘Headspace’. This website offers meditation that is focused on a certain problem you may be experiencing. This day we participated in a meditation session created for focus, which made us become aware of our breaths, keeping our mind focused instead of wandering, and making the classroom completely quiet and soothed.

Teachers promote knowledge in the classroom in many ways, one I have already mentioned being rewards. Another way of promoting knowledge that I experienced on Thursday was leading by example. For students to fully understand, teachers make and create examples so that the job can be done properly and complete grade four level work as expected. Since Halloween is quickly approaching, we had art class in the morning and were painting night time portraits. Before we began, we had the students gather around the nearest table to explain to them how to properly paint, clean up, and take action upon their project. Many teachers rely on their own websites that they have found, along with other teachers in their school to partner up with and help them create lesson plans together. They also rely on connection with their students since young students need that type of support as well to help them fully develop and understand. Many teachers spend hours, even days, searching for plans and activities that work best for them, for example, Mr. Yee had searched for different books that contained methods of teaching, applied and suggested different websites and other books that would be useful to the rules/ assignments that the book contributed, and saw what worked best or him and his classroom, and continued to apply it to the curriculum.

My second day at Tisdale Elementary School was October 18th, and I began the day with Mr. Yee on crosswalk duty. While on crosswalk I watched teachers and students arrive with their parents or on the bus. After every parent and bus driver that passed us they would smiled and wave and every one on crosswalk duty that morning, making me realize that there are many positives to every job that needs to be preformed. When walking into the school I was reminded to keep my eyes open for all the different people in our school setting that helped everything run smoothly on a daily basis. I spent most of my day in the grade four classroom, but also visited both the staff room for coffee, and the library to get a better feel of the school.

Within my school I have noticed the following people: teachers, janitors, secretaries, the principal, support staff (such as the librarian and substitute teachers), EA’s, and bus drivers. TES takes a very important role in Tisdale’s community, taking part in Earth Day by picking up garbage around the town, and even hosting events. Last Thursday night the school held a literacy night where students got to invite their parents and take part in different reading activities around the gymnasium. So far I have felt very welcome and every person that plays an important role in the school seems to be very kind and generous. Tisdale as a community is very dependent on one another, and support the school at certain times of the year, this includes: literacy night, Christmas concerts, the Halloween parade, Remembrance Day concerts and Student led conferences, these are also a very important piece of information that staff, students, and parents prepare for every single year multiple times.

Links between school and community during large nights is created by the principal and participating teachers. Teachers are also allowed to make action to help the parents become more involved in the classroom with their children during the school day. Mr. Yee’s grade four class is learning about fraction in math class, so to help them come to a better understanding of the subject he is inviting parents to come into the classroom one day during math to work with their children on real life examples of fractions. This will include making fractions out of their family size, their family animals, food that they eat, clothing that they may own, etc. This will be followed by a fraction lunch with their parents. This will benefit not only the student but the parents as well by getting an inside look and participating in their child’s everyday life away from home.

My first field placement was on for October 11th in Tisdale Elementary School with Mr. Yee. Walking into the school I had no idea what to expect from the teahers, or even the students. The moment I walked into the door I was greeted by the secretary and the principal, both ladies made me feel welcome immediately. The principal explained to me the importance of childhood education, and how elementary school would set them up for either success or failure, since it all starts from the roots. As she spoke we walked throughout the entire school as she showed me each classroom, the library, gymnasium, staff room, the breakfast counter, and a closet filled with different types of clothing for some of the children who could not afford it. As the clock ticked, it was almost nine am and Mr. Yee had just come in from cross walk. After we introduced ourselves and went our weekly focus topics an questions, it was time for me to meet his Grade four class. The moment I walked in I knew it was going to be a great growing experience, and had never felt so sure about my career choice by the time lunch had rolled around.

In my grade four class there are around twenty students, each one of them different in their own ways. There are eleven tables spread across the room, each table seating two students. Lockers line the back of the classroom where jackets, lunch boxes, and some times their toys from home are kept. Mr. Yee’s binders, textbooks, and work materials are both kept in the middle of the classroom on a rolling shelf, and also in the large shelving units located off to the side against a wall. Bulletin boards are kept neat and tidy on both sides of the rooms and five rules are printed and framed on one of them beside the teachers desk. Every student comes prepared and ready to learn, and know what duties they are expected to fulfill on which week. When students are doing well, participating, and being kind they are rewarded with a movie while they are eating during lunch, the past two weeks we have been watching Coco. While being in this class I noticed that colours, rhymes, and activities were used to keep them on their toes. For example, if we are working in partners and the noise control gets out of hand, Mr. Yee will either say “Rule One!” and they will tell him what rule number one is on the bulletin board, or he will say “waterfall!” and they will reply “shhhhh”, making them go back to being quiet.

During recess I stood with Mr. Yee out on the playground. I watched the way he spoke to students, asked them questions, and helped them to understand different situations. As the day moved forward, both me and the students started to warm up to each other, me and one of the students talked for a very long time and she explained to me her passions and abilities. Both the school and the play grounds were kept clean of garbage, and the sidewalks are kept washed. The students have many play structures and no problems arose through the fifteen minutes of free time they were given. As the weeks will continue to go by, I cannot wait to see what I will learn from both Mr. Yee and his students.

Becoming a teacher to me means taking the role of an educator and holding it for twenty four hours a day. If students need a guide or help with anything, even outside of School, we should be there to provide knowledge and guidance. Teachers are the adult figures that students are around for most of their day. This means a quarter to a third of their day. This means that as a teacher we have a responsibility for them that is very much respected. Not only are we educating healthy minds as we teach; we are educating healthy lives as we teach.  Helping shape the minds of both elementary and high school students is a way to shape our future. Teachers are the beginning of trust, knowledge, love, help, support, and understanding. Becoming a teacher means taking on the job of many, but loving the journey along the way.

i.)

The three stories that I have chose to discuss similarities and differences are based on our third blog post: gender. Throughout all three of the gender stories I have picked including my own, we strive to be the perfect image of a female. This seems to be shown through perfect makeup, dresses, body suits, heels, etc., a normative narrative at that. The three stories I have chosen show a time in a females life where they believe they have preformed their gender in a perfect way.

The first story I have chosen is Tori’s. This story describes her graduation day, thinking back on it and how even though she may have slightly stumbled in her heels at home, she looked in the mirror and felt perfect. Tori’s story captures the normative narrative that all girls on graduation day are expected to spend a ‘fortune to get done’. Most girls pay an expensive price for their dream dress, hair, makeup, and nails when it seems like boys only need to pay for their suits and a nice pair of dress shoes for the exact same occasion. The next story that caught my attention is Jocelyn’s. In her gender story she is also getting ready for her day, not graduation, but the first day of grade nine. A normative narrative is also brought to the attention of the reader in this story. Jocelyn explains how it was her chance to recreate herself by putting on makeup with the skills she had picked up from YouTube over that summer. These steps taken are also steps that you would not normally see a boy take on his first day of school. Lastly is my gender story. Throughout my post I explained how girls filled the dance hall, making it seem as though girls are expected to dance, not boys. When competition season rolled around we would put on your poofy dresses, red lipstick (along with all other makeup products, and fake eyelashes) to show our femininity.

All three of these stories shared and represented normative narratives to relate to our gender. From the way we feel about ourselves in the morning, to sports, and the routine we all took on our graduation day. This may be examples of the opposite procedures we take based on our gender. Being examples of how us as women are expected to dress, how we are expected to wear makeup on a regular basis, and even be part of certain sports that relate to the way a female body is perceived.

ii.)

As these three stories become analyzed through there similarities and differences we see the power of gender and how normative narratives affect our every day lives. When you think of a female what do you think of it? Then switch to what the first narratives that come to your mind about males. What are they?

Coming back to Tori’s story she explains how she felt looking into the mirror located in her bedroom when she felt the most beautiful, just how she had hoped to in the days leading up to it. This also goes against the normative narrative that people believe that women are insecure within their own bodies no wonder how they really looked. How women always compare themselves to each other or never feel good enough. Tori continues on to say ‘There was not one part of me that did not feel perfect. I was the definition of a perfect girl.’ This quote shows the audience that their is strength in confidence and being a women, when others believe that only men are emotionally strong. It is portrayed that women are gentle, emotional, and soft when men are strong and confident within themselves and their decisions. Breaking the normative that this is the way our genders are perceived, there is more power in a women’s confidence than there is in a mans word. In my post about gender I described how it felt to see my body at every angle three days a week, being compared to others while doing so. This is something that is often not seen as much with men, comparison that is. Finding confidence within yourself at the best of times has been portrayed through all three of the posts mentioned.

The first day of school after summer vacation is a day for you to prove your growth and your new found skills that you picked up over the summer, just like Jocelyn. Just like Tori and I both had, this was a moment for her to feel beautiful and truly believe in the beauty of change. She finds a power within herself to acknowledge the beauty within herself stating: ‘I am ready for high school while feeling like the perfect, beautiful young woman I am.’ Her story breaks the normative narrative that we need a man to feel worthy, beautiful, and have strength. When in this cause a girl going to her first day of high school finds confidence within herself, worth, and power. This is how I felt whenever I would walk through the doors of my dance hall, as if the power that the music and movement gave me could help me move mountains and feel beautiful just as I was in that very moment. Pure, balanced, and confident.

Through the posts I have chosen I have learned the power of true self-love, motivation, and confidence. Between Tori, Jocelyn, and I we have all met our moments face to face for when we feel as though the world is ours and nothing can change that. As females we break the boundaries of normative narratives finding what helps us feel the best, and showing that we are not just gentle and pure, but are strong and powerful as well. We are able to disrupt the normative narrative of femininity.

Growing up, my life seemed perfect. I had a dog and a cat whom were best friends that lived outside on my huge acreage, I could sit for hours watching Blue’s Clues, could not be more excited to spend one week with mom and the other with dad, and play with my Barbies every single day. As the clock moved forward and the years began to roll by, I became more aware of how the world worked, and how maybe everything was not as perfect as it seemed. The kingdom that I created in my head as a child may have partially came crumbling down a year and a half ago, but as the days go by I strive to rebuild the broken pieces, adding more rooms on in the future. Growing up, I felt as thought I had everything I needed. I had clothes that I loved dearly, food on the table always, wagon wheels in the pantry, and my dad would always take me to the closest movie theater that was an hour away from home. When I went to school however, I noticed the difference between myself and other kids in my grade. Growing up made me understand that life is what you make of it and not what you own.

Christmas has always been my absolute favorite time of the year. The smell of peppermint and cinnamon pine cones, family travelling to Grandmas for the Holidays, the red and green decorations filling the streets, and presents snugged underneath the Christmas tree. Christmas break was the longest break of the school season, meaning that we did not get to see or talk to our friends for two and a half weeks. As Christmas break came to a halt after New Years, everyone wanted to sport their new clothing pieces and bring some of their best gifts to show each other on our first day back. This Christmas however, I noticed the difference between my gifts and my best friends presents. I have and always will be grateful for the gifts I receive, the family that gathers in the warmth of a home, and the festivities we take part in. The way I was raised and the path of I have been given made me who I am today, and I am forever grateful. As we arrived back at school in January, the show and tell of the Holidays began. My best friend at the time was the first to go explaining how for Christmas her parents would be taking her to Disney World over February break. I sat in my seat imagining Disney World in my head, but hardly knew anything about the destination. I thought back to what I got for Christmas and how grateful I was for what my family could afford for me. Next, went a girl who’s parents always strive to give their children the best, and are still like that to this day. As she walked up to the front of the class she pulled out a device that I had never seen before, an IPod nano. At first I had never seen or heard of this device, but I knew that I wanted one too. It was hot pink in colour, and could play music and take both photographs and videos. I had never seen anything like it before. I put up my hand asking her and if she could show me the new gadget at recess, this was both out of jealousy and curiosity. As my turn rolled around, I pulled out a large box from my Curious George backpack that contained a deluxe airbrush tattoo workshop. I had played with my gift the entire break, believing it was the best gift I had ever received to date.

As the day went on I wondered about the other children and the gifts they received. Keeping the thought with me as I went home and told my dad about the Disney World trip, he explained to me that there is a difference between our families, with both jobs and the number of parents living in the household. I was not upset about my gifts, in fact, every single gift that I have received has given me more childhood memories than I could never have experienced with an IPod Nano. I stuck to my Taylor Swift CD, and watched Disney movies on VHS as I gave my dad airbrush tattoos. Maybe my family is not like everyone else’s, I had thought, but mine was for sure the best.

Both structural and systematic racism is defined by being ‘a form of racism expressed in the practice of social and political instructions.’ This seems to mean that both groups and individuals are being supportive of racist thinking. People believe that most of these groups or individuals are white and show racism towards other cultures with active racism and being supportive towards racist thinking. White identity is combined with white privilege helping me to believe that those two topics being tied together is unprincipled. These topics are not the same, but some believe that it can be tied together throughout different topics. When we see someone on television commit a crime, we have a good image created of them in our minds, based solely on the crime that took place. Many people see white as ‘innocent’ and are surprised when they see a young white male has committed a crime, and often times are approached with a sentencing of much less than another culture. People do not seem so surprised when a person of another culture has committed a crime, but this is just an example of seeing whiteness as innocence.

I personally feel discomfort and attacked towards the thought that white privilege is everywhere, when in fact in some places there is no thought towards them and their needs. If a person of any skin colour applies for a job, they should choose the person who is most equipped. But, if you want to apply for a job in criminal justice today, you will see that both the advertisement and the application will state that they are only looking for metis, etc. If a white man or woman applies for the job and cannot prove that they are one of the three listed cultures, their application will be removed leaving them out of a job and a way to provide to their families based on his or her cultural background. The bad apple theory states that a few ‘bad apples’ can bring corruption. Which in fact that is not the truth. We are meant to harvest our own decisions and both these decisions and discussions should not be based on skin colour, but based on who is capable of which job, what crime, and what movements shall scattered across the world. A few bad apples can be removed and overseen, it depends on how we act on different topics as a nation that matters.

I am only four years old as my mother puts me into the vehicle, and we begin our half an our road trip into Nipawin, Saskatchewan. My pink fabric booster seats lifts me up so that I have a perfect view looking out the window. It is the end of August and the summer sun is beating down onto our car, and the black pavement moving quickly underneath. I did not have a clue where we were headed, or why, but I can tell you now that this day would change my life forever. As the road trip came to an end, and we parked in front of a small building that had many mothers and daughters walking in and out of the door,  I knew this was a place where I belonged. As I pulled open the heavy metal door, an open, wooden floor greeted me, along with many other girls my age and older. Classical music filled the air, mixing with the summer breeze, and two women sitting at a plastic table asked me a question that led me to believe I could achieve anything. “Which dance classes will you be joining this year?” As I looked around the dance hall I realized that these girls surrounding me were powerful, and had the same interests as me. I finally came to the conclusion that I was a young girl, and I was going to be a ballerina, just like Clara in Barbie and the Nutcracker.

I not only joined ballet, but I also found interest in jazz, lyrical, tap, modern, and of course, pointe. I danced for a total of twelve years, and over those years I learned so many important things about myself, but this dance hall not only made my dreams come true, but made me more aware of my body. Every dance class we were compared to one another, and dressed in skin tight, black leotards. This made it easy for our dance instructor to see our bodies always, and correct us so that we would not be able to hurt ourselves or damage growing muscle. As time passed and we grew older, some of us were asked to do a move or a combination like another. Others developed eating disorders since we were all expected to have a certain physic. Every single girl that walked into those large metal doors, continued to walk in and out three days, every week until graduation rolled around. Here we learned to be strong, powerful, motivated, encouraging, thriving, balanced young women. We were surrounded by mirrors, front, back, and side almost every day of our lives up until we turned eighteen. This made most us self aware of how we looked at every angle during every single movement we took. Making me realize that a happy women is a strong one, and accepting yourself is the only way to create self love.

To say it is easy to be a women,  is wrong. I scroll through the internet every single day and I will not lie, I have compared myself or wished that I had someone else’s body. Over the years I have learned to grow and understand that my body shape is not the same as theirs, and neither are my genetics. Realizing you are a women with a beautiful body and self worth is so important. Dance helped me realize who I was, how powerful my body really is, and how empowering other women is very important always.

I went to school in the small town of Choiceland, Saskatchewan where there were only five others students in my grade, making the school only reach a high of about one hundred and twenty students at the best of times. Every student was Caucasian, and even when we went to the big city, we never questioned why our skin colour was different from others. I believe this is because we never judged, and children see everyone as equals (unless they are raised otherwise). My earliest memory of noticing that others have different skin colour than me, was at a family event.

My moms sister, Auntie Jamie, had a relationship with an African-American man and had five children in the process. We had never met him, but her and my cousins were always together with us on those special holidays. Her oldest son is nineteen years of age now, meaning he is only a year older than me, so naturally we were always seen together at family functions. I never saw their skin colour as something that stood out to me, or wrong in any way, if anything I am proud to say that my family has diversity and is beautiful in different ways. My grandma finds it especially pleasant since my mother has two Caucasian children, and her other daughter has African-American children, making us her ‘salt and pepper babies’. To all of us that is adorable, so take it with a grain of salt.

It is fascinating to see just how different one family can be throughout the tree. Personally, I have pale skin, blue eyes, red hair, and stand at five foot five. On the other hand, my oldest cousin has dark skin, brown eyes, curly brown hair, and stands at six foot three. Having different skin colour does not make you worth any less or anymore than everyone else, it simply makes us beautiful in such complex ways. So often in a day we see another person and admire their beauty, and we never once think that they are worthless based on the way they look. That is the beauty of diversity, skin colour, beliefs, and creativity.